The last couple of week’s effort into searching for nests around Thetford began to pay off this morning, as I got to ring my first blackbird chicks of the year.
Having waited for the rain to pass, we approached the wall of ivy where this nest is hiding with caution and a little trepidation, hoping the chicks had survived the down pour and plummeting temperatures of recent days.
Our luck was in… there hidden amongst the ivy, hidden and protected from most of the rain was the nest, and inside three chicks! With downy feathers giving them a rather scruffy look and wing feathers just starting to peek through, they were the perfect age for ringing.
 |
| Ringing my first Blackbird chicks of the year |
 |
| Carefully adding the uniquely numbered ring to the chicks leg using special ringing pliers |
Most unusual about this nest was the fact that I know this is an old nest from previous years, distinctive as the builder used bits of plastic bag, woven in with the grass!. Small birds such as blackbirds usually build a new nest each year to lay their eggs in, although the use of old nests is not unheard of. This particularly nest has been present for at least two years, although as far as we know it was not used last year.
With the chicks safely returned to the nest we left them in peace with a wish of good luck and keep safe!
 |
| All safely tucked up back in the nest |
No comments:
Post a Comment